Impulse

Being a particularly technical guy, I do a lot of things unconsciously that prevent catastrophic failures, so I’ve come to feel that my value of F is smaller than most people. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride. The great number of computers in my house, all in perfect working order, further inflates my ego. My F is very small indeed!

But, math doesn’t work like that as Dr. Murphy would agree. Creeping stealthily through my house, Math knows that F is F no matter what you name is. It sees the little ghostly Fs floating above each computer, each hard drive. Math grins maliciously knowing that the likelihood of its wrath being visited upon my house is not just F, but the sum of all those Fs. (cue lightning) As Math waits patiently, my 13 hard drives spin out 13 times the probability for failure as the simple technophobe next door.

“I think,” it says. “He is due.”